HMRC requires letters for pension scheme registration-status checks

Pension scheme administrators seeking HMRC confirmation of a receiving scheme’s registration status must now send their request by letterGOV. Those wanting an email reply must read the specified email factsheet and include consent wording in every request; otherwise HMRC will reply by post.GOV

Send the letter to:

Pension Schemes Services HM Revenue and Customs BX9 1GH United Kingdom HMRC’s transfer guidance previously offered an interactive guidance route as an alternative to writing. It now directs administrators to the postal address and sets out the additional steps for an email response.

Administrators must read Corresponding with HMRC by email — CC/FS72 DSC1GOV and put the statement “I have read and agree to the HMRC email protocol” in their letterGOV. The transfer-specific instructions require this each time a request is submitted. This is a condition for receiving an email reply, while the request itself goes by letter.

The linked factsheet explains that email can expose information to interception, alteration or unauthorised access, and that attachments or links may contain malicious code. It asks businesses to identify the names and email addresses of the people with whom HMRC may correspond. Administrators choosing email should use the factsheet to understand those arrangements and include the email-protocol statement each time they want an email reply to a pension-status request. This concerns the requesting administrator’s choice of reply channel; HMRC separately says it can disclose registration status without the receiving scheme’s consent.

Timing remains a practical constraint: HMRC warns that a response may take several months. Administrators should account for that when planning a transfer enquiry. HMRC confirmation is only one check and is not a recommendation of the receiving scheme or product; further checks are needed before deciding to transfer.

HMRC gives positive confirmation only where the receiving scheme is registered, is not subject to a deregistration notice, and its information does not indicate a significant pension-liberation risk.GOV If either registration or risk conditions fail, HMRC says it cannot provide confirmation. Where it identifies concerns, it contacts the receiving scheme first to give it an opportunity to resolve them; unresolved issues after three months lead to that non-confirmation response.

The administrative requirements are set out in HMRC’s Transfer a pension scheme member’s savings guidance and its referenced CC/FS72 email protocol.